Friday, February 6, 2009

Bulletin: Good news for the Emerald Coast of Florida. The Air Force has just announced the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program will be brought to Eglin Air Force Base. Eglin AFB is the largest contributor to the economy in Northwest Florida, and the biggest military institution in the Department of Defense. The decision to bring in 59 new aircraft by 2015 will add 10,000 military members and families will be a boost to the community. The surrounding towns impacted by this new growth include Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Crestview, Navarre, Destin, Santa Rosa Beach and vicinity.

I am proud to announce that the Air Force has signed the Initial Record of Decision (ROD) to bring the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) to Eglin AFB. The announcement allows the delivery of 59 aircraft between March 2010 and 2015. This decision allows for construction of facilities for the JSF Initial Joint Training Site, which includes instructor pilots, operations and maintenance support personnel and provides an initial capability for one squadron each of F-35s for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. A future Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) will study more fully developed noise mitigation options and study operational alternatives to determine the potential beddown for an additional 48 F-35 aircraft at Eglin. The community will still see an increase of approximately 10,000 military and dependent personnel with the 7th Special Forces Group and the F-35 Training Center. Military construction is expected to bring $700 million to the local area. A copy of the ROD is available on the Eglin web site: http://www.eglin.af.mil/"Gen E"